Eniola Yekini
Presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has kicked against the policy reversal of fuel subsidy removal being proposed by the former Vice-President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar
Sowore stated that Atiku’s proposition is an attempt to take credit for growing opposition to the fuel subsidy policy of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
Sowore made the allegation in a statement shared on Friday, August 28, 2026, while reacting to the renewed debate over fuel subsidy and the Federal Government’s recent moves to reduce transportation costs.
The AAC candidate urged Nigerians not to be deceived by Atiku and his supporters, insisting that his party had consistently opposed the removal of fuel subsidy.
According to Sowore, the position he presented at the Nigerian Bar Association’s Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt played a major role in putting pressure on the Tinubu administration.
“It was our firm and uncompromising stance at the Nigerian Bar Association Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt that sent the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu regime scampering,” Sowore said.
He claimed that the AAC was the only political platform at the conference that maintained a clear position against the removal of fuel subsidy.
Sowore further alleged that Atiku changed his position on the issue after the Port Harcourt conference and subsequently attempted to align himself with the opposition to the government’s fuel policy.
“Only the African Action Congress (AAC) made its position absolutely clear that we will not remove fuel subsidy. In fact, by the time we returned from Port Harcourt, Atiku had already changed his position and was scrambling to catch up,” he said.
The comments come days after a heated political session at the 66th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association in Port Harcourt, where Sowore, Atiku’s representative Rotimi Amaechi and other opposition figures debated issues including fuel subsidy and transportation.
The fuel subsidy debate has become a major political issue ahead of the 2027 general elections, with opposition politicians adopting differing positions on whether the policy should be restored or permanently scrapped.
Sowore maintained that the AAC had remained consistent on the issue, accusing what he described as establishment politicians of changing their positions for political convenience and under the influence of foreign capitalist interests.
“We have been consistent on this issue while these establishment politicians keep shifting positions according to political convenience and foreign capitalist control,” he said.
He therefore urged Nigerians not to allow political opponents of the Tinubu administration to rewrite the history of the subsidy debate or present themselves as the leading opposition force on the issue.